Kids Korner

Visit Oakland/San Francisco! Golden Gate Bridge Fisherman's Wharf San Francisco Cable Car GOLD! Thousands of people from all over the world rushed to California hoping to get rich quick after gold was found near Sacramento in 1848. Most people didn't find any, of course, but they came through San Francisco and northern California, forever changing the sleepy area – just 900 people called San Francisco home. Then came April 18, 1906 and the Great Earthquake. The quake broke all the water mains and started a fire that burned for three days. Almost 500 city blocks – a third of the city – were destroyed. But that didn't stop San Franciscans. They just built a better, cooler city – one that all kids and their parents love to visit. Where else can you make faces at lazy Sea Lions who live at Pier 39 on Fisherman's Wharf; visit what was once the nation's most fearsome prison on Alcatraz Island; and ride a national historic landmark (better known as a Cable Car), all in one day? You're one lucky kid! Taste the sourdough bread at the new Boudin Bakery on Fisherman's Wharf, watch the San Francisco Giants baseball team play in SBC Park, see if you can wrap your arms around a giant redwood north of the city in Muir Woods, or be an astronaut for a day in Oakland. Check out www.sfcvb.org to see what's going on for kids when you visit.

Did You Know?

• You can peer through one of the biggest public telescopes in the country at the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland (10000 Skyline Blvd). “Nellie,” as the telescope is called, weighs in at 12,000 pounds and is 93 inches long. All of you astronaut wannabes will love this place, but you don't have to be a science buff to enjoy it! You can be part of a mission space team and take a simulated Moonwalk. Check out the new Solar-Go-Round exhibit where you can design your own solar system and launch your planets into orbit. (www.chabotspace.org)

• Kids have been performing at Fairyland Children's Theater in Oakland (699 Bellevue Ave) for nearly 50 years. You'll see some of the young performers dressed as their characters around the Fairyland attractions. Check out the puppet show and the talking storybooks, too. All you've got to do is turn the “magic Key.” Many say the fairytale theme park helped inspire Walt Disney to build the Magic Kingdom. (www.fairyland.org)

• Popsicles were invented in Oakland in 1905 by an 11-year-old named Frank Epperson. He left a glass of lemonade outside with a glass mixing stick in it. The next morning, he discovered the lemonade had frozen. He learned that by running it under hot water, he was able to get it out of the glass and eat the frozen lemonade using the stir stick as a handle.

• The Golden Gate Bridge, anchored by twin towers that reach 750 feet above the water, was once taller than any San Francisco building. It took 70,000 miles of wire, 10 years of planning and four years of construction to complete. It's actually orange, not gold. The Golden Gate name refers not to the color but to the Golden Gate Strait, the entrance to the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. You can walk or bike over the bridge – it is 1.7 miles – but leave your skateboard and blades behind. They're not permitted. You can also cross the bridge via an old-fashioned fire engine (www.firenginetours.com). You wouldn't want to walk over The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge – it's 8.4 miles long – and is the longest high-level bridge in the world (www.goldengatebridge.com).

• You can make animated videos with the clay figures you create or star in your own videos at Zeum, the art-technology center for kids (70 Mission Street - www.zeum.org). Nearby is Sony Metreon, a four-story entertainment complex complete with IMAX and a PlayStaytion shop to try the latest games (101 4th Street at Mission - www.metreon.com).

• San Francisco is home to the largest Chinatown outside of Asia. You can see fortune cookies made at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookies Company in Chinatown (956 Ross Alley). They send fortune cookies all over the world from this tiny storefront. You'll have fun wandering around Chinatown's tiny alleys and the streets. Visit www.sanfranciscochinatown.com

• You're riding a national historic landmark when you ride a Cable Car in San Francisco. You won't be going too fast though. Cable Cars can only go 9 mph.
  Visit the Cable Car Barn, where the city's 40 cars depart and arrive each day. Andrew Hallidie invented them after he noticed overworked horse cars struggling up San Francisco's hills. Check out the very first cable car from 1873 at the Cable Car Museum. (1201 Mason Street, www.cablecarmuseum.org)

• There are 229 parks and playgrounds in San Francisco. You won't want to miss Golden Gate Park, where you'll find the Children's Playground and old-fashioned Carousel as well as the Japanese Tea Garden. It's bigger than New York's Central Park!

• “The Parent Trap,” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” and “The Princess Diaries” are among the many movies filmed here. Watch them before you visit and then see which places and neighborhoods you recognize!

What Other Kids Say You Should Do While In Oakland/San Francisco . . .

Mika Hernandez (age 13) She lives adjacent to the San Francisco Bay, in Alameda, California, just five miles from Oakland and 15 miles across the Bay Bridge from San Francisco. Her mom, Mona Hernandez, is the District Marketing Manager for Northern California, Nevada, and the Pacific Northwest. Don't Miss: The Chabot Space and Science Center in the Oakland Hills, with lots of hands-on exhibits, planetarium shows, big-theatre movies, and free telescope viewings. Other “Can't Miss” Places: The Lawrence Hall of Science (just east of the UC Berkeley campus on Centennial Drive - www.lawrencehallofscience.org) is also pretty cool. Telegraph Avenue, near the campus, has a ton of tie-dye clothing and vendors selling handmade jewelry. My favorite place to visit is the California Academy of Sciences' Steinhart Aquarium (875 Howard Street - www.calacademy.org) The famous sea lions at Pier 39 in San Francisco are fun to watch as they play on and around the docks. Great eats and shopping, too. (www.pier39.com) The Exploratorium, located at the Palace of Fine Arts, is another hands-on museum of science, art and interesting hands-on exhibits. Older kids will want to get tickets for the Tactile Dome in which you make your way through a dome in the dark, navigating by feel. (3601 Lyon Street - www.exploratorium.org) Be Sure to Try: Dim Sum at one of the many restaurants in either Oakland or San Francisco's Chinatowns. Dim Sum, Chinese dumplings with different kinds of fillings, are great for either breakfast or lunch. While in San Francisco's Chinatown, you'll see herb shops, hanging roast ducks in deli windows, and Buddhist temples. Sushi is a must when you visit a Francisco's Japantown. There are a lot of art galleries, bookstores, and restaurants, too. Don't Go Home Without: Taking in either an Oakland A's or San Francisco Giants baseball game (www.sfgiants.com or www.oaklandathletics.com). Depending on what sporting season is in high gear when you visit, you can choose from a wide variety of teams to see, like the Oakland Raiders (www.raiders.com), San Francisco 49ers (www.sf49ers.com), and the Golden State Warriors (www.warriors.com) in Oakland. Best Thing to Do With Mom or Dad: You can cruise San Francisco Bay or visit Alcatraz Island, the former Federal Prison (www.nps.gov/alcatraz), or Angel Island State Park with hiking and biking trails. You can even rent bikes on the island (www.angelisland.org). Riding the famous San Francisco cable cars is fun, too. Must Have Souvenir: A big Ghiradelli Chocolate candy bar! Check out the Ghiradelli chocolate factory and ice cream shop on Fisherman's Wharf. (www.ghiradelli.com)

Rory Tennessee Gallagher (age 11) He lives in San Francisco. His mom is Geraldine O'Brien, arts and tourism manager with the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau. What Visiting Kids Should Know: San Francisco is a very small city and people are very friendly. There are a lot of great things to do all the time. There are a lot of great neighborhoods that are really cool like Chinatown and Japantown. The best part of living here is all the different types of people who live here – and all the different kinds of restaurants! Favorite Place to Visit: I have a lot of favorite places including Pier 39, SBC Park where the San Francisco Giants play, Golden Gate Park, and Sony Metreon, the big entertainment complex. What Visiting Kids Should See: Pier 39 (make sure to get ice cream at Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Shop) and a Giants game. Also, it's fun to take a ferry ride to Sausalito, across the Bay. A Good Place For Pizza: North Beach Pizza (There are many locations - www.northbeachpizza.com) Must Have Souvenir: A San Francisco Giants foam finger or any Giants souvenir.

Tell Your Parents . . .

• The weather can change quickly in Oakland/San Francisco when the fog rolls in so make sure you've all got jackets when you're heading out! Two good books to help you plan your trip are Fodor's: Around San Francisco With Kids, with flip art and games ($10.00); and Frommer's San Francisco With Kids ($15.99).
• CityPass (www.citypass.com) enables you to get a discount ticket book for some of the city's top attractions and avoid the lines when you get there. There's also www.gosanfranciscocard.com. You can book hotels at www.sfvisitor.org and find out local parents' picks for fun at www.gocitykids.com.
• Remember that you need to get tickets in advance to visit Alcatraz. You can buy them at www.blueandgoldfleet.com.

  There are many great kid-friendly museums and places to see animals and sea creatures in and around Oakland/San Francisco including:

• The Aquarium of the Bay where you can learn all about the sea creatures who live in the Bay. (Pier 39, www.aquariumofthethebay.com)
• San Francisco Zoo, where kids can help care for the farm animals at the Children's Zoo. (On Sloat Boulevard at 47th Avenue, www.sfzoo.org)
• San Francisco Maritime Park, a national park with collections of ships that kids can explore, including the USS Pampanito World War II submarine. (Ships are located at the Foot of Hyde Street. The sub is at Pier 45 - www.maritime.org)
• The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which hosts family day the third Sunday of each month with music and special activities. (151 Third Street - www.sfmoma.org).
• The Bay Area Discovery Museum at Fort Baker in Sausalito for younger children (955 McReynolds Road, Sausalito - www.badm.org)

See Past Editions of Kids Korner.

By: Eileen Ogintz, Author of Taking the Kids™